As an adolescence, we usually dream about the direction we would like our life to go within our career paths. What was your dream during this time?

• “My dream was to grow up and be a homicide detective. In my heart of hearts I wanted to be an artist but I wrote poetry and I didn’t know it was poetry. It was just my journal and I got a journal in the third grade. I currently own over 45 journals and I also created a journaling system for women. I always wanted to be a poet, but I did not know anyone who wrote poetry. I had only seen it performed on tv or read about it in books at the library. I never thought it was something realistic for a person coming from my humble experiences because my childhood experiences were so limited. So, I thought I can go to school to become a homicide detective and take on world.”

What is your definition of the grey area? Would you say you are in it currently?

• “I would say my definition of the grey area is simply the inability to remove limitations and no I’m not in the grey area. I’m very clear about my  life’s purpose and the direction my life is moving in. Because I’m very clear that the universe can only conspire to give us exactly what we expect, not what we want. So, if I am expecting to keep living in this space where I didn’t have a rooted connection to things because my parents didn’t and the generation before them did not. I’m going to continue to be faced with those experiences but if I could wrap my mind around the idea that I’m simply experiencing the ceiling of my limitations, then I can see past them and I can see past the grey area.”

Do you believe the grey area is temporary or permanent?

• “I believe it’s a permanent space because it’s a state of mind. It’s like you being in Washington, D.C., when you leave D.C., D.C. is still going to exist, D.C. is not going to go anywhere just because you are not there. It will exist. So, the grey area is a permanent place, it’s not a permanent place where you have to take up residence. There is always going be people in that grey area, theres always going to be people, in these spaces of these state of minds, because I feel like it’s a state of mind. Living in the grey area is a choice that we all have and get to make. So, if you choose to live beyond the grey area you will not be there but someone else will and that is okay and that is their choice.”

How were you paying for college? Is it worth it?

• “I did not think about it. I paid for college with loans and I had severe debt. I funded several major project using debt. I think it is not a good choice, but it surely has changed the trajectory of my children’s life because it does take revenue to see the world differently. I did not come from that experience so In the past I chose to fund my life with debt and I did not fully understand the impact at that time. Honestly, I would have done it differently if I had to do it again. If I knew better and was more educated, I would do it differently. I would perform better in high school which would have afforded me a full ride to college. “

Have your post-college thoughts differed from pre-college thoughts? If so, why?

• “Um no, because I still have had the chutzpah to continue growing and face adversity and create innovations that impact my family and the world. My poem, “Gathering Space” is permanently being featured at the new Dayton Metro downtown Library. Nate and I won the 2018 Governor’s Award for the arts in Ohio in the area of community development and participation. We just wrapped on a decade of producing live theater for urban creative arts. I have expanded my chutzpah, drive, and will to do the work. I am excited to currently be one class away from completing my MBA. Recently, I became a playwright and our play “Eunice: Starshine & Clay” goes up at the University of Dayton November 30, 2018 in partnership with the U.D. Theatre Department. Lastly, I am excited to be graduating from spiritual school in June 2019.”

Is your post-graduation timeline still the same? If not, what changed?

• “What changed was my understanding of love and wanting to save what mattered to me. I knew that permanently working in the criminal justice system was not going to be good for me, nor my marriage or family. Working in criminal justice is an insular lifestyle. So, teaching CJ courses on a collegiate level was a much better fit. But yeah, so no my situation changed. I changed, I grew and I accepted that there is a small part of me that wonders what would happen if I would have stayed and became a forensic psychologist. My higher self must have chosen that road in a past life, so I’m glad I did not choose it this time.”

During your post-graduation phase of life, are there any lessons you would like to share?

• “Being you is enough and creating opportunities for personal and professional development is icing on the cake.”